president obama did talk about climate change in his election night speech. there are signs that he thinks about this as kind of a legacy issue. he's someone who cares a lot about his legacy. this would be sort of a decade, century-long issue that would cement his place. >> ifill: we'll see what he does next, if anything. thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. >> brown: again, the major developments of the day: house republicans made a counter-offer on how to avoid the "fiscal cliff." it calls for $2.2 trillion in savings over ten years, but no hike in tax rates. and the u.n. announced it's pulling nonessential international staffers from syria, while u.s. officials warned the syrian government not to use chemical weapons on its people. online, an update to a law in saudi arabia renews a debate about male guardianship. hari sreenivasan has more. >> sreenivasan: now whenever a saudi woman leaves the cntry, her husband or father receives a text message. the recent changes to the long- held system of male guardianship sparked outrage on twitter recently. i